cen58933_ch08.

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HEAT TRANSFER

Substituting this into Eq. 8–17, we obtain

·
Q  hAsTln (8-32)

where
Ti  Te Te  Ti
Tln   (8-33)
ln[(Ts  Te)/(Ts  Ti)] ln(Te /Ti)

is the logarithmic mean temperature difference. Note that Ti  Ts  Ti

and Te  Ts  Te are the temperature differences between the surface and
the fluid at the inlet and the exit of the tube, respectively. This Tln relation
appears to be prone to misuse, but it is practically fail-safe, since using Ti in
place of Te and vice versa in the numerator and/or the denominator will, at
most, affect the sign, not the magnitude. Also, it can be used for both heating
(Ts
Ti and Te) and cooling (Ts Ti and Te) of a fluid in a tube.
The logarithmic mean temperature difference Tln is obtained by tracing the
actual temperature profile of the fluid along the tube, and is an exact repre-
sentation of the average temperature difference between the fluid and the sur-
face. It truly reflects the exponential decay of the local temperature difference.
When Te differs from Ti by no more than 40 percent, the error in using the
arithmetic mean temperature difference is less than 1 percent. But the error in-
creases to undesirable levels when Te differs from Ti by greater amounts.
Therefore, we should always use the logarithmic mean temperature difference
when determining the convection heat transfer in a tube whose surface is
maintained at a constant temperature Ts.

EXAMPLE 8–1 Heating of Water in a Tube by Steam

Water enters a 2.5-cm-internal-diameter thin copper tube of a heat exchanger
at 15°C at a rate of 0.3 kg/s, and is heated by steam condensing outside at
120°C. If the average heat transfer coefficient is 800 W/m2  C, determine the
Steam length of the tube required in order to heat the water to 115°C (Fig. 8–16).
Ts = 120°C
115°C SOLUTION Water is heated by steam in a circular tube. The tube length
Water
D = 2.5 cm required to heat the water to a specified temperature is to be determined.
15°C
0.3 kg/s Assumptions 1 Steady operating conditions exist. 2 Fluid properties are con-
stant. 3 The convection heat transfer coefficient is constant. 4 The conduction
FIGURE 8–16 resistance of copper tube is negligible so that the inner surface temperature of
Schematic for Example 8–1. the tube is equal to the condensation temperature of steam.
Properties The specific heat of water at the bulk mean temperature of
(15  115)/2  65°C is 4187 J/kg  °C. The heat of condensation of steam at
120°C is 2203 kJ/kg (Table A-9).
Analysis Knowing the inlet and exit temperatures of water, the rate of heat
transfer is determined to be
·
Q  m· Cp(Te  Ti)  (0.3 kg/s)(4.187 kJ/kg  °C)(115°C  15°C)  125.6 kW

The logarithmic mean temperature difference is